Photocatalytic properties of molybdenum oxide photoelectrode synthesized by spray pyrolysis method

The present work reports the photoelectrocatalytic properties of pyrolyzed molybdenum oxide thin film. Microstructural analysis revealed clustered nanoaggregates. Structural analysis showed a polycrystalline α -MoO 3 phase. The crystallite size, dislocation density, microstrain, and stacking faults were found to be 41.27 nm, 5.87 × 10 −4 lines/cm 2 , 8.41 × 10 −4 and 1.78, respectively. The optical bandgap was found to be 3.20 eV. Linear sweep voltammetry measurement in 1 M KOH electrolyte revealed a significant photocurrent density of 992.39 μA/cm 2 at a bias of 1.2 V versus Ag/AgCl (1.4 V vs. RHE). The reasonable performance of the device suggests that the rarely deployed spray pyrolysis method is promising for preparing photoactive α -MoO 3 films for photoelectrochemical measurement.